The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
These and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Pole devices have been used as a tool to aid users working in hard to reach areas. For example, a telescopic pole can be used to assist users in installing equipment onto a ceiling. Advantageously, safety of the users is increased by eliminating the need for a scaffold, stilts, a bench, or a scissor lift to reach the ceiling to install equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,116 to Dockery discloses a pole apparatus having at least two telescopic body sections. The pole apparatus can be configured into a collapsed orientation and a telescoped orientation by inserting a pin through bores disposed on the two body sections of the pole apparatus. Although the pole apparatus of Dockery and other pole devices (e.g., Ninja™ fastening tool by BluePoint® Fasteners) are useful for certain applications, the lifespan of many pole devices can be problematic due to common failures (e.g., bowing, burring, etc.) observed in such devices.
Thus, there is still a need in the art for improved pole devices that reduce the risk of common failures.